Briefs

May 25, 2014

The law firm of Lewis & Lewis recently announced the addition of Laurie M. Beckerink as an associate attorney at their Jamestown and Olean offices.

Beckerink is a graduate of Clymer Central School (1998) and St. Andrews Presbyterian College (2002) where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science. Beckerink earned her Juris Doctor in 2005 from the University at Buffalo Law School. She was admitted to practice in the Courts of New York State in 2006 and is also admitted to practice in the United States District Court, Western District of New York.

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Laurie M. Beckerink

Beckerink comes to Lewis & Lewis as a seasoned attorney, most recently serving as an assistant district attorney for Chautauqua County for the past seven years. Beckerink's practice will be focused in civil litigation and worker's compensation. Her extensive trial experience is a welcome addition to Lewis & Lewis.

The firm has five offices located in Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Batavia, Jamestown and Olean and is one of the largest firms representing injured parties in Western New York.

J.D. Power

Honors Northwest

Northwest Savings Bank ranks highest in customer satisfaction in the Mid-Atlantic Region, according to the J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study.

The study, conducted quarterly from April 2013 to January 2014, analyzes the overall satisfaction customers have with their retail banking experience based on account activities, account information, facility, fees, problem resolution and product offering. Northwest received the highest satisfaction score in the Mid-Atlantic Region, which includes Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Northwest Savings Bank was also ranked highest from 2010 through 2012.

"Receiving our fourth award in five years from J.D. Power for being highest ranked in our six-state region is an incredible honor," said Steven G. Fisher, executive vice president, banking services of Northwest Savings Bank. "Today, customers have higher expectations of service providers. It is our goal to continue to exceed customer expectations and build our brand as leaders in customer experience, serving our customers and communities as trusted financial advisors. This award confirms that we are on the right path."

In addition to the recognition by J.D. Power, Northwest was named to the 2014 "Bank Honor Roll" by Keefe, Bruyette and Woods. The list consists of the 31 top performing banks in the country over the last 10 years. Northwest was also recently included on Forbes' 2014 list of "The Top 50 Most Trustworthy Financial Companies in America," based on the transparency of the bank's financial reporting and strong governance practices.

First Niagara Declares Dividend

BUFFALO - First Niagara Financial Group Inc. recently announced that the company's board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of 8 cents per share on outstanding FNFG common stock.

The company's board of directors also declared a quarterly preferred stock dividend of $0.539063 per share on its fixed-to-floating rate perpetual non-cumulative preferred stock, Series B.